Geoffrey Branger
Our voice can already control a connected speaker or interact with our car. Soon, we may even be able to know our health status just with our voice. Studies on vocal biomarkers are multiplying, and this might well change everything in the detection and monitoring of certain pathologies.
Evaluate your health with your voice to detect or monitor the evolution of respiratory diseases (asthma, Covid-19…), neurodegenerative (Parkinson, Alzheimer’s, etc.) or psychiatric disorders (depression, anxiety, etc.) will soon be possible. Numerous studies on vocal biomarkers, i.e. disease-specific signatures, are underway and researchers are able to say with certainty that all pathologies that affect the lungs, heart, brain, muscles or even the vocal cords can lead to changes in the voice.
This is why, using artificial intelligence, it is possible to identify certain diseases. The research is only in its infancy, but there are already first results. “We have developed a first marker to identify depressive symptoms, solely from the voice recordings of patients”, observes Guy Fagherazzi, director of the precision health department at the Luxembourg Health Institute.
Follow the evolution of his pathology directly on his smartphone
This new technology might see the light of day in applications for the telephone, for example, which will allow patients to follow the evolution of their pathology. “We might also imagine augmented teleconsultations”, adds Guy Fagherazzi, “with real-time voice analysis so that there can be an instantaneous analysis of health parameters during the conversation between the healthcare professional and the patient. .”
The recovered data is not yet sufficient today. This is why the researchers are calling for as many people as possible to send them voice recordings. To participate, you must go to the website Colivevoice.org. All you need is a smartphone, an internet connection and regarding thirty minutes free.
